


It's Not What You Think

by janeyseymour



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 21:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30095373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janeyseymour/pseuds/janeyseymour
Summary: Katherine finds some papers in Jane's room that worry her. It turns out that what she finds isn't what she thought.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	It's Not What You Think

**Author's Note:**

> Hi loves! This idea has floated around in my head for a little bit, and I finally got around to writing it (Thank goodness for spring break!) 
> 
> TW// ideas of suicidal thoughts (although not explicit, just alluding to them)
> 
> On that note, I do hope that you all have a lovely day!

“Guys, look at what I just found in Mum’s room,” Katherine called out in a panic from the third queen’s bedroom. The other four queens quickly made their way into Jane’s room.

“Where is Janey anyway?” Anne asked. “Why are you snooping in her stuff? I know you aren’t trying to find blackmail on her.”

“No, no,” Katherine waved her hands frantically. “I was just trying to do her a favor. You know, she’s always cleaning the house up, so I thought I would do her a favor and clean up her room. Well, this one notebook was open, and I couldn’t help but glance at what was written on the page it was open to. I’m worried about her.” She gestured to the notebook wildly.

Anne, ever the nosy one, was the one to grab the book and began to read out loud.

_ Queens, _

_ I think that my time on this earth for the second time is coming to an end. I don't know if I’m going to survive this, but if I don’t, I don’t want to leave you with the idea that my heart was not with you guys. It will always be with you all, no matter where I am. On each page after this one, I will address each one of you individually, but know that you six are my heart and my soul. I can only hope that if I do pass, I hope you keep the little legacy that I have alive. Know that you are all strong and powerful women, and I’ll be watching you from above. All my love goes out to you, and I am so grateful for the family we have become. I cannot wait to see you loves again. _

_ All my love, _

_ Janey _

_ To Catherine- _

“What the hell?” Anne snapped, her eyes meeting a teary eyed Catherine of Aragon.

“Surely this isn’t what we think it is. There has to be some sort of explanation to this.

There has to be,” the gold queen reasoned. “There’s no way this is what we think it is.”

“How do we even approach this?” Cleves questioned. “Even if Seymour was, you know,”

she trailed off slightly. “She wouldn’t just outright admit it to us.”

“There’s got to be another reason for this. We just have to ask her,” Cathy spoke clearly,

often the voice of reason in the house when Jane wasn’t around.

The blonde, blissfully unaware of the situation, had gone out alone to buy groceries.

When the others realized that this was one of the rare times that the silver queen hadn’t asked any of them to go with her, a tension in the room had built up.

“I’m just going to call her and see when she’s coming home.” Kat opened her contacts and scrolled to Jane- “Mum” it read. She pressed the call button and waited with baited breath, hoping the third queen would answer.

“Hi love!” Jane’s cheerful voice rang through once the line had connected. “Did you need me?”

“I was just wondering when you were coming home?” Kat tried to hide the shaking in her voice.

“Are you okay? Did something happen? Oh god, tell me Anne didn’t try to cook again. I’ll be home as soon as possible,” the third monarch’s voice rose in pitch as she began to ponder what could have prompted this phone call from her daughter.

“No, I just wanted to know when you were coming home. You’ve been out a while.”

“I’ll be home soon dear. I just have to hunt down a few more items on the list, and then I’ll be on my way back to make dinner.”

“Promise?” the fifth queen blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Do I promise that I’m coming home to make dinner?” Jane was confused. Why on Earth would she not come home?

“Mhmm.” It was hard to ignore the fact that Katherine had almost sounded like a child, uncertain of something.

“Of course I promise love. Are you sure you’re alright?” Jane’s tone became softer, and her pace in the grocery store quickened. 

“I, uh, yeah. I just got worried. Like I said, you’ve been out a while. I’ve missed having you around the house today.”

“I’m sorry honey. I’ll be home soon, I promise you.”

“Okay,” Kat’s voice became a bit lighter at the confirmation that Jane would in fact be home that night. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“You aren’t bothering me love. I’ve missed you today too. I’ll be home soon, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too Mum.” Kat hung up and informed the others that Jane was, in fact, alright and would be returning back shortly.

“What the hell?” Jane muttered to herself after she hung up with the pink haired queen. Why on Earth had Kat been so concerned that she might not return home that night? She stopped in the middle of the aisle she was in to send a text to Catherine.

**[To Lina: Kat just called me and sounded like something was rattling her. Think you could see if you could comfort her at all?]**

“Jane just texted me regarding your phone call. She knows something is up,” Catalina sighed.

When the third queen walked through the door, she barely had time to put down the groceries in her hands before the fifth queen had tackled her in a hug.

“Mum,” Katherine sighed into the blonde’s cardigan.

“Hi love,” Jane wrapped her arms around the younger queen. “Not that I’m not loving the greeting I just got, but what’s going on? Are you alright dear?”

“I’m a lot better now that you’re home.” Kat made no moves to let go of the older woman.

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy I’m home. Do you think you could help me with the groceries? And then while I’m making dinner, you’re more than welcome to help out or keep me company.”

Katherine Howard hadn’t left Jane Seymour’s side since the older monarch had gotten home. The only time they had been apart since she had gotten home was the few moments where Jane excused herself to go to the bathroom. Throughout dinner, the others kept giving their motherly queen concerned glances that she was clearly picking up on, but no one would say why. What the hell had happened while she was gone for a few short hours to pick up groceries? 

“Katherine dear, tell me what’s going on in that sweet head of yours,” Jane muted the television show that the two were watching and faced the younger woman.

“It’s just been a weird day for me, and I missed you. You comfort me in a way that the others can't. I just needed some Mum Janey warmth, you know?” the third queen nodded and settled back into her position.

After some time, it was apparent that the fifth queen was entranced with whatever program had been on- Jane hadn’t really been paying attention. Instead her attention was on the younger woman tucked into her side. How she wished she could read the pinked haired queen’s mind to ease whatever was making her Katherine so anxious. Shuffling over a little, she pulled her phone from her pocket.

**[To Lina: Do you have a minute to chat?]**

**[From Lina: Yeah. Do you want to come up to my room or should I come down?]**

**[To Lina: I’ll come up.]**

“Love? Lina just asked me for some help in her room. Will you be alright if I leave you here for a bit? I can always ask Anne to come sit with you if you’d like? Or Anna?” She knew those two also had a way of keeping the fifth queen from feeling overwhelmed (well, sometimes. Everyone knew that it really did depend on the situation- sometimes they were calming, and sometimes they were the ones making  _ everyone  _ feel overwhelmed with their chaos). 

“I’ll be okay.” Kat’s eyes stayed glued to the television screen. Jane nodded and made her way up to the yellow room.

“Okay, I’m going to be upfront here because I’m genuinely worried about what’s wrong with my daughter,” Jane rushed out, wasting no time. She was determined to be back downstairs and on the couch with the youngest queen as quickly as possible.

“The question is Jane: Are  _ you _ alright?” Catherine’s expression was different than it usually was. The face that was usually so stoic expressed genuine concern. The voice that never wavered no matter what- Jane could hear a slight quiver in her voice, brokenness and concern evident.

“Why would I not be?” Jane tried not to sound defensive.

The gold queen stood from her bed and closed the door quietly before embracing the blonde. “Listen, it’s okay to admit that you’re going through a hard time, but ending it won’t-”

“What on God’s green Earth are you talking about?” Jane pulled away from the hispanic just enough to look her in the eyes.

“Oh thank god,” Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Thank god for what?” Jane asked incredulously. Why was everyone walking on eggshells with her?

“Promise you won’t be mad.”

“Well, now I’m really concerned. What did you all do that would upset me?” When Catherine took hold of Jane’s hand and led her to the grey bedroom, it was clear to the blonde someone had been in her room.

“Kat was trying to be nice and help clean your room for you since you’re always doing so much around the house, and-”

Jane interrupted her friend, “-Why would I be mad about that? That’s so kind of her.”

“She found this.” Catalina took the notebook with her letters out. Jane looked at her confused, so the first queen continued. “We’re worried about you Jane.”

The third queen read over what she had written, but she was confused as to why it would be alarming to her friends. Sometimes, she could be a bit dense, but none of them thought she could be this oblivious.

“I don’t see why you’re concerned?”

“Jane, are you planning on... you know?” And then it clicked in the silver queen’s head. They thought these were...

“Oh!” Jane’s hand flew to her mouth in realization. “Oh heavens no. Oh my gosh no! I’m so content with my life! I would never dream of doing such a thing! This isn’t what you think.”

“Please tell me why you wrote these. Please,” Catherine pleaded. “And be honest. Please.”

“Do you remember those two weeks where I told you all I had to quarantine because I had Covid before everything shut down?”

“You didn’t have Covid, did you?”

_ Jane had woken up that morning feeling strange. A dull pain in her stomach was there, but she chose to ignore it. She had a family to take care of and a show to put on that night. As the day went on though, the pain never subsided. In fact, it only got worse. She pushed the pain down though. The best way to not throw herself into a panic attack over an aching stomach was to simply ignore it, or at least attempt to. It was best not to worry about something that would quickly go away, or so she had thought.  _

_ That night, the show went on. With every movement, the blonde had to conceal her winces and the movement that was required of her only made the pain worse. “Heart of Stone” was a mess in itself. The required breath control she needed was enough to make her tear up with every deep breath she took before allowing the melody to dance its way into others’ hearts. As she sang the song, she listened to the words she was singing. It was as if the lyrics were meaning something different to her tonight- she might have to go soon if this pain continued. Surely, she wouldn’t want to alarm the girls, but she knew she had to go to the hospital after the show.  _

_ To anyone watching this performance, Jane’s performance of her song alone was absolutely stellar. The tears flowed freely. What people thought was the blonde’s beautiful storytelling and emotion over her son was in fact the third queen’s pain that she had been attempting to conceal for the past however many hours finally coursing through her body. She was able to release it there under disguise. It took her a few seconds longer to regain herself once her song ended, not quite ready to endure the pain of the second half of the show. _

_ Seymour was never the first off the stage. That night though, she was. It didn’t take long for the others to notice that something was amiss with their friend. _

_ “Seymour?” Jane looked to the fourth queen. “You good?” She nodded. _

_ “I’m alright. I’m not feeling too well at the moment, but I’ll be okay.” She replaced the pained look on her face that had betrayed her with a more neutral expression. _

_ “You better not have Covid,” Anna joked. Jane considered what her successor had just said: that was her way out. _

_ It was an early night for each of the queens. Show days were always early nights, especially when they had another show the next day. Once everyone had settled in for the night, Jane took a notebook out. The pain in her side was unbearable, reminding her of the way she had felt in the last moments of her last life. If she was going to die a second time, it would only make sense that she would die in a similar way to her first life: painful stomach infections. She would write out a message to each of her queens, letting them know just how much she loved each and every one of them- hoping to pass time and ensure that all the other women in the house were asleep before she would make a trip to the hospital. _

_ Queens, _

_ I think that my time on this earth for the second time is coming to an end. I don't know if I’m going to survive this, but if I don’t, I don’t want to leave you with the idea that my heart was not with you guys. It will always be with you all, no matter where I am. On each page after this one, I will address each one of you individually, but know that you six are my heart and my soul. I can only hope that if I do pass, I hope you keep the little legacy that I have alive. Know that you are all strong and powerful women, and I’ll be watching you from above. All my love goes out to you, and I am so grateful for the family we have become. I cannot wait to see you loves again. _

_ All my love, _

_ Janey _

_ To Catherine- Where do I even begin to start this? You are my absolute best friend. I cherish each and every moment we have made together, both in this life and our past. You are truly a wonderful, wonderful human being that I am so blessed to have gotten to know over the past years, and I can not wait to see where you go in this life (because you know for a fact I will be watching our family from above). Without you, I’m not sure I would’ve grown into the woman I became. You instilled so much love and heart into me- and without you I don’t think I ever would’ve broken out of my shell. I would’ve stayed the mild mannered yet somewhat bitter woman I was. I never would’ve had the chance to connect with Katherine. If my time on this earth truly has come to an end, please love that girl. Love all of the girls. Love yourself. Stay you Catalina. You have a heart of gold. I love you more than you’ll ever know. _

_ To Anne- Oh Anne, you crazy, crazy woman who I have come to love like a sister. Thank you for bringing so much energy and sunshine into my life (along with the many messes that I’ve had to clean up, both literally and figuratively). You are such a ball of energy with a heart that is like no other. I cannot thank you enough for our time together. I know that we’ve had our differences, but dammit if we didn’t shove it in the universe’s face and come out of it on the other side as friends... no, sisters... Thank you for being the kind, caring, compassionate woman that you are. I cannot wait to see what else you have to do in this life. I’ll be watching. Please do your best to not get arrested when I’m gone though... I have a feeling that I’m the only one who would bail you out of jail at 3 in the morning because of public urination. I love you oh so much.  _

_ To Anna- Cleves. Cleves. Cleves. You truly are a one of a kind human being. Know that even though you have always been the complete opposite of me (tall, tough, a boss ass bitch- you know) I have always looked up to you and your ability to be one of the kindest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Stay you and keep on loving yourself and the girls. I hope you know how dearly I love you. _

_ To Cathy- Oh Cathy Parr, where would I be without you? Certainly, I wouldn’t have been able to write all of these letters, although I do wish my showing off my writing skills would’ve been under better circumstances. Thank you for being the beautiful and kindhearted person that you are. Keep using your voice to empower everyone around you. All that you’ve done up to this point has made me so incredibly proud of you, and I know that when I’m watching you from above, you will only continue to do so. Gold star for you Cathy Parr. I love you oh so much. _

_ And to my Kat- Katherine, I hope you know just how much I love you. You truly are the most earnest and loving young woman I’ve ever met, and I am so thankful for the time that we’ve had together. We met under the strangest circumstances, and if anybody had told me I would slowly adopt a nineteen year old when we first came back, I would have thought they were crazy. But my heavens, I wouldn't change what we have for the world. I know if you are reading this, I’ve passed, and I can only hope you know that I’m watching you from above. All you did on Earth up until the point of my leaving made me so incredibly proud- growing from the shy and quiet Katherine Howard into this... elegant and kind hearted, passionate and outspoken Katherine Seymour. It truly was magical to watch. Continue to make me proud, love. I know you will. I love you with my everything sweet one.  _

_ The blonde closed the notebook and laid it on her pillow before she carefully snuck down the steps as quickly as she could. Glancing at the clock, it was only about 11:30 at night. If her health was on her side, she would be back in time for the girls to not know she had been anywhere in the first place.  _

“So you didn’t have Covid?” Catherine interrupted Jane’s story. Jane only shook her head before continuing.

_ By the time she had gotten to the hospital, she could barely support herself. If she had made it through an entire 80 minute cardio routine, she could muster up the strength to walk into the hospital. How wrong she had been. About five steps into the walk, the blonde’s nearly legs gave out, the pain overtaking her body. Never one to give up though, she struggled her way into the emergency room, startling the woman at the desk. _

_ “Stomach, killing me,” Jane breathed out. “Please help.”  _

_ “Appendicitis is a tricky one. You’re lucky you came in when you did. Another hour or so, and it would’ve burst,” a doctor informed the third queen after she had woken up from her appendectomy.  _

_ “How long until I can go back to my usual routine?” Jane asked in a bored manner. “I do have a show to be in.” _

_ “Should be about two weeks.” _

_ “When can I leave this place?” The silver queen felt bad for treating the doctor in a rude manner, but if she could avoid having the others fuss over her while she recovered by being back home before they could even be aware she was gone, she would. _

_ “You should be able to leave relatively soon seeing that you’re already awake and seem to be reacting normally to the medicine. Just need someone to pick you up.” _

_ “Bloody hell,” Jane muttered to herself. How was she going to get around this one? _

_ Jane had gotten into the taxi that was supposedly going to take her home, but before the driver could pull away, she slipped him the money she would owe him and requested that he drive around the block before dropping her back off here. _

_ “That’s an odd request.” _

_ “Just can’t have the doctors knowing I’m going to drive myself home.” _

_ “Ma’am, don’t you think you should follow doctors’ orders and not drive home if-” _

_ “-I live literally two blocks away. I just need to get my car back home without raising any questions from my housemates.” _

_ Jane had arrived home just as the others were getting up. Putting a mask on, she entered the house and tried to ignore the pain where her appendix had just been removed. _

_ “Mum!” Katherine smiled. “Where were you?” She began to get up from her spot on the couch, but Jane stopped her quickly. _

_ “I was feeling a little ill yesterday, so I made an appointment to get tested for Covid. I have it. I’ve got to quarantine for two weeks.” _

_ “Oh my god,” Catherine breathed out. “Are you alright?” _

_ “I’m alright. Just a bit short of breath, and my head hurts. I’m heading up to my room for the next two weeks. If you need me, feel free to call or text me. I’ll try to order groceries and things like that to be delivered here later in the week. Text me the things we need. Just stay away from my room. I’d rather none of you get sick.” The others wished her well and set out to call the managers of the show. Surely, they would have to cancel the next two weeks of performances. _

_ The third queen truly felt guilty lying to her family, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to tell them the real reason she wouldn’t be able to be in the show for the next two weeks. In reality, the blonde had done them a favor: their managers would all end up with Covid the next week. The queens would stay Covid free. _

“Jane Seymour are you bloody kidding me?” The younger monarch shook her head. “You had a near death experience, and instead of telling any of us about it, you wrote letters to us in case you died?”

Now that the silver queen was hearing what had transpired, she felt a bit silly.

“I’m sorry. I just-”

“We would’ve been there for you! You didn’t have to hide that from us! God, you really are unbelievable sometimes!” Although there was annoyance in her voice, Catherine hadn’t made any moves to release Jane from the hug she was holding her in.

“I just didn’t want to inconvenience you all.” Jane shrugged her shoulders. “Our show would’ve gotten canceled for the next however long we were closed after the mandatory shutdown happened anyway. And our managers ended up getting Covid, so really... Maybe I saved us from getting Covid?”

“Well, you might have, but for God’s sake Jane, why wouldn’t you tell any of us? You know we would’ve been more than happy to help out!”

“Well, yeah. I know that. I just,” the third queen paused to try to figure out how to articulate her feelings. “I’m supposed to be the mother of the household. It would feel weird to have had you guys helping me out as opposed to the other way around?”

“Honey, we helped you out anyway. We had to bring your food to your room, all that stuff,” Catherine countered.

“Yeah,” Jane drew out. “I didn’t want you guys to see me as weak though.”

“Weak?”

“Yeah. Like, I had succumbed to yet another stomach infection.”

“You couldn’t help that?” The first queen stared at her incredulously. Her best friend really could be dense sometimes- thinking they would find her weak for not being able to magically heal from something that had the potential to kill her. 

“I mean, now that we’re talking about it, it feels kind of silly.”

“Yeah,” The first queen finally laxed her grip on the blonde. “Those notes were what had Katherine worried.”

“It makes sense now I suppose. I guess I should go talk to her,” Jane made a move to get up before a delicate hand held her wrist, stopping her from moving. 

“The entire house knows. I think we need to have a family meeting.”

“Is that why everyone was looking at me so worriedly at dinner tonight?” Catalina nodded. 

**[From Jane, to the Queens group chat: Family meeting right now, mandatory. Meet in the living room please.]**

The queens, sans for Katherine who was already there, made their way down to the living room a bit confused. Why was Jane calling this meeting? Wasn’t she the one they were concerned for? Maybe this was her cry for help.

“Hi loves,” Jane greeted warmly once everyone had gathered in the room. “So, I figured we should address what you guys found.”

“Mum I’m really sorry I was going through your-”

“It’s quite alright. Lina told me you were just trying to help me out.”

“Janey if you need help, please-”

“Anne, let her speak. I think you’ll all be interested to hear what she has to say,” Catherine quipped from next to the silver queen. 

“Do you remember those two weeks where I told you all I had to quarantine because I had Covid before everything shut down?” The blonde started her story for the other queens the same way she did for Catalina. The others nodded, and Jane dove into her story.

“...And now that I’ve explained myself and Catherine and I have spoken, I know it sounds silly what I did, and I’m really sorry for worrying you all.” All of the queens, aside from the first who had already heard the ridiculous story, could only stare at Jane in disbelief. 

Katherine was the first to break the silence. “Oh thank god,” she muttered, attaching herself to her maternal figure. “I thought I was going to lose you.” Jane strengthened the hug.

“Are you kidding me Seymour?” Cleves could only hum out.

“Jane, you know we’re all here for you- no matter what,” Cathy mused. “You’re always helping us when we’re sick, right? You don’t see it as a sign of weakness, do you?”

“Well, no. That would be si-” The blonde paused, mulling over what the sixth queen had asked her. “-You got me.” She pointed a finger towards the writer, a small smile appearing on her face. Cathy always knew how to ground the third queen.

“Please let us know the next time you aren’t feeling well, and please tell us the truth.”

“I will. I’m sorry for concerning you all.” Jane had the decency to appear bashful, but in truth, she was absolutely guiltridden for making her family worry this much about her over something so stupid (in her mind).

“Don’t worry about it Janey. It’s not like tomorrow I won't be the one concerning you,” Anne smirked.

“Anne Boleyn!”

All was right in their world again, but that didn’t stop Katherine from gluing herself to the third queen’s side for the rest of the night.


End file.
